O2446Council Meeting: 11 -12 -2013
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2446 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
AMENDING SECTION 4.68.160 OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE
RELATING TO PERMITTED RACES /RUNS ON AUTHORIZED CITY STREETS
WHEREAS, on May 8, 2001, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2008
(CCS), adding Chapter 4.68 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code, the Community
Events Law; and
WHEREAS, the Community Events Law has been amended and refined on
several occasions to ensure that the law conforms to constitutional requirements and to
enact appropriate modifications to the law based on experience, changing conditions in
the City and community feedback on the operation of the law; and
WHEREAS, the Community Events Law provides a coordinated process for
managing community events to ensure the health and safety of event patrons,
residents, workers, and other visitors, to prohibit illegal activities from occurring at
community events, and to protect the rights of community event permit holders; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica is a coastal city in a prime location, bordered by the
City of Los Angeles to the north, east, and south;
WHEREAS, the City's land area is small, being just 8 square miles and the City's
population is approximately 90,000; and
WHEREAS, in addition to its large residential population, the City is a very
desirable place to work or visit; and
WHEREAS, on weekdays, approximately 300,000 people are present within the
City and on weekends the number swells to as high as 500,000 people; and
WHEREAS, the density of the City and the number of people working or visiting
the City on a daily basis significantly impacts the ability of traffic to circulate on the City's
existing street network; and
WHEREAS, the City's street network is a grid system bisected by the Santa
Monica Freeway; and
WHEREAS, streets within this network are categorized by classification types
including Boulevard, Special Street, Commercial: Downtown, Commercial:
Neighborhood, Avenue: Major, Avenue: Secondary, Avenue: Minor, Avenue: Industrial,
Neighborhood Street, Shared Street, and Parkway; and
WHEREAS, Boulevard, Commercial: Downtown, Commercial: Neighborhood,
and Avenue: Major streets are generally the commercial streets that keep traffic moving
throughout the City and have as their primary function the movement of vehicles into
and through the City and the service of adjacent commercial land uses; and
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WHEREAS, the locations of the freeway interchanges and over crossings, as
well as the inter - relationships of City streets with those of the surrounding network in
Los Angeles, causes traffic to be concentrated on the City's commercial streets; and
WHEREAS, neighborhood streets are designed to serve adjacent residential
uses only; and
WHEREAS, due to the nature of the grid system, if blocked or heavily congested,
traffic will be diverted onto the nearest street which is typically a neighborhood street;
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WHEREAS, neighborhood streets can be overwhelmed when traffic is diverted
from commercial streets and residents' peace and quiet enjoyment can be significantly
impacted; and
WHEREAS, since the street network already carries a significant volume of
traffic, diverting or stopping the traffic will further deteriorate the levels of service for
these intersections and result in increased traffic into residential neighborhoods and
degradation of the vitality of commercial districts; and
WHEREAS, community events are, by definition, atypical and not necessarily
anticipated by or appropriately regulated by existing citywide ordinances; and
WHEREAS, the City regulates community events for the same reasons it
regulates land uses: to protect the health, safety and public welfare by regulating traffic,
noise, aesthetics, and other impacts; and
WHEREAS, community events often require the provision of public services,
including police, fire, transportation, and public works and additional maintenance of the
facilities they use; and
WHEREAS, community events often use facilities that would otherwise be
available to the public or generate revenue to the City; and
WHEREAS, managing community events requires ensuring that these events are
compatible in size and type of use with their sites, adequate services are provided for
the events, adequate cost recovery for these services is achieved, the events do not
interfere with the City's ability to provide services to the entire community, and the
impacts on neighbors and others are minimized; and
WHEREAS, the City's Community Events. Law has been in place for over a
decade and has been highly successful in establishing a coordinated process for
community events thereby ensuring the health and safety of event patrons, residents,
workers, and other visitors and protecting the rights of community event permit holders;
and
WHEREAS, the current Community Events Law provides for one ten - kilometer
route, two five - kilometer routes, and one marathon route segment; and
WHEREAS, over the past six years, there has been a significant increase in the
number of race events that have occurred in the City;
WHEREAS, more specifically, between FY 2008/09 and FY 2012/13, race events
increased from two 5K/10K races per year to five races, including three 5K/10K races
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and two 5K races with two additional race events also receiving permits, including the
LA Marathon and an annual Christmas Run; and
WHEREAS, residents and businesses along the race routes are impacted by the
street closures with limited or entirely restricted vehicle egress and ingress and access
impacts for business employees and customers; and
WHEREAS, staff has received numerous complaints regarding these impacts to
residents and businesses; and
WHEREAS, residents are experiencing 'race fatigue" due to the increased
number of race events over the past several years; and
WHEREAS, based on this experience, community feedback and input from City
departments, staff has identified proposed revisions to the Community Events Law to
reduce the frequency in which races may occur in an effort to mitigate the impacts
caused by street closures associated with such events of traffic circulation, vehicle
egress and ingress, noise, and access to parking.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.68.160 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
4.68.160 Athletic Events.
The procedures and criteria for conducting races /runs shall be as follows:
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(a) There shall be one ten - kilometer route, two five - kilometer routes, and one
marathon route segment;
(1) The ten - kilometer route (10K Ocean Route) begins at Beach Park No. 1
(Barnard Way at Ocean Park Boulevard) and continues south to Barnard Way, follows
the bend to go east on Marine Street, north on Main Street, west on Colorado Avenue,
north on Ocean Avenue, east on San Vicente Boulevard to 14th Street where
participants will turn around and go west on San Vicente Boulevard, south on Ocean
Avenue to end at the 1500 block of Ocean Avenue (before the entrance to the Pier
ramp).
(2) The first five - kilometer route (51K North City Route) begins at Seventh
Street and California Avenue, west on California Avenue to Ocean Avenue, north on
Ocean Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard, east on San Vicente Boulevard to Seventh
Street, south on Seventh Street to Georgina Avenue, west on Georgina Avenue to
Fourth Street, south on Fourth Street to California Avenue, east on California Avenue to
Seventh Street.
(3) The second five - kilometer route (5K Ocean Route) begins at Beach Park
No. 1 (Barnard Way at Ocean Park Boulevard) and continues south on Barnard Way,
follows the bend to go east on Marine Street, north on Main Street, west on Colorado
Avenue, north on Ocean Avenue to the 1000 block where participants will turn around
and continue south on Ocean Avenue to end at the 1500 block of Ocean Avenue
(before the entrance to the Pier ramp).
(4) The marathon route segment begins on San Vicente Boulevard at
Twenty -Sixth Street (the City limits) and continues west on San Vicente to Ocean
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Avenue and south on Ocean Avenue to end at the 1500 block of Ocean Avenue (before
the entrance to the Pier ramp).
(b) 5K North City Route races may only occur on Saturday mornings from
seven - thirty a.m. until eleven a.m.
(c) 5K Ocean Route and 10K Ocean Route races may only occur on
Saturday and Sunday mornings from seven - thirty a.m. until eleven a.m.
(d) There shall be no more than a total of three (3) 5K and /or 1 OK races per
year in the City regardless of route, with one of these races occurring in May, and two in
September, October, or November separated by at least seven weeks. The use of both
the 5K and 10K Ocean Routes on the same day by the same organizer with
simultaneous or staggered starts shall be considered as one race.
(e) The marathon route segment shall be limited to the completion of
marathon races that are regional in scope (involve a course that runs through multiple
jurisdictions), attract elite and international runners, receive extensive national and
international media exposure, and are undertaken by a marathon entity with the
demonstrated capability to organize and operate a large, successful marathon including
sufficient funding to finance the costs incurred in organizing and holding the marathon
and sufficient staffing to ensure its safe and efficient operation. Preference shall also be
given to applicants proposing recurring marathons traditionally or historically associated
with a particular day or dates. The marathon may only occur on Sunday from six a.m.
until six p.m. There shall only be one marathon per year that utilizes the marathon route
segment.
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(f) With the exception of one 5K race on the Saturday following Thanksgiving
Day using the 5K North City Route, there shall be no races on holidays or holiday
weekends including Memorial Day and the preceding weekend, Labor Day and the
preceding weekend, and Thanksgiving Day and the subsequent weekend including the
Friday following Thanksgiving Day.
(g) No vehicular races shall be permitted.
(h) Events which include multiple modes of travel (e.g., running and bicycling)
shall be permitted so long as the start times for different modes of travel are staggered.
(i) Prior to the issuance of a community event permit, City staff shall
determine the specific portions or lanes of the roadway that may be used by the
participants. This determination shall be based on safety considerations and the
preservation of access to businesses and other scheduled activities along the route.
(j) In addition to the routes established by subsection (a) of this Section,
races /runs may be permitted on other streets in the City so long as the majority of the
race /run occurs outside of the City and that portion of the race //run within the City does
not exceed one -half mile in length. Races permitted pursuant to this subsection shall not
be subject to the time /frequency requirements established in subsections (b) and (c) of
this Section.
SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall not apply to any complete race application
filed prior to October 22, 2013.
SECTION 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or apprendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective thirty days after its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARS
City Al
RI
Approved and adopted this 12th day of November, 2013.
Ram O'Connor, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 2446 (CCS) had its introduction on October 22,
2013, and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on
November 12, 2013, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Davis, Holbrook, McKeown, Vazquez, Winterer
Mayor Pro Tern O'Day, Mayor O'Connor
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
A summary of Ordinance No. 2446 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
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Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk